5 Predictions for the Future of DAM

For the past 8 weeks we’ve been taking an in-depth look at digital asset management (DAM). Today, our modern DAM series concludes with 5 predictions about the future of DAM.

1. Simplicity

Recent research suggests the digital asset management market will grow to a whopping $4.19 billion by 2019. As more marketers and creatives turn to DAM to help them streamline their asset management processes, DAM companies will build excess features into their products.

While intended to help customers, this may present unnecessary complexities to end users. Platforms focused on user simplicity — in conjunction with outstanding customer support — will gain massive market share moving forward.

2. MarTech

Competitive DAM solutions will need to leverage the broader MarTech ecosystem in order to remain relevant and useful. Content management systems, marketing automation platforms, social media channels, and other important marketing systems leveraging DAMs will perform better than those without. They’ll also reduce burden on the people who actually create and manage campaigns.

I envision a future in which marketers can create content, build and launch campaigns, and understand which assets are best performing all from one application (fully integrated across many tools on the backend). Not only will this streamline workflow, but it’ll also help brands go to market faster.

3. Analytics

Analytics will also continue to remain extremely relevant. With improved line of site into asset tracking and performance, marketers will be better equipped to segment and reiterate on assets with the highest ROI.

According to Ralph Windsor, a senior partner at consulting firm DayDream, “One utility of big data in digital asset management is for marketers to apply analytics tools on DAM to identify and interpret actionable information — like using sales data to identify the kind of images or content that works versus ones that do not.”

Understanding who, when, and where assets are accessed and used will improve marketer’s abilities to continue serving up the most relevant content for their customers and prospects.

4. Brand Monitoring

As the multitude of publishing channels and outlets continues to grow, it will also be essential for DAM users to keep tabs on their digitized assets. Marketers will rely on tools to help track and monitor brand use (and even brand misuse), thus helping marketers ensure their brands are always consistent.

5. Innovations in Technology

Lastly, I think we’re still learning about the various new ways to deliver content to a multitude of devices. Wearable technology is a recent game-changer — now brand assets are being served to your wrist!

What other technology breakthroughs will continue to challenge marketers as we move into the next decade? Leave a comment below!

Jenay Sellers runs Digital Marketing at Brandfolder. As a Marketer and wannabe website designer, she understands the importance of digital asset management tools and solutions. When she's not encouraging others to check out Brandfolder, she enjoys cooking Blue Apron meals, playing golf, and curating Spotify's best new music.